JP6583398B2 - Aseptic filling machine and aseptic filling method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention aseptically fills an inner bag for a bag-in-box with a spout into a liquid food such as milk, cream, juice, liquor and soft drinks, or a liquid food containing liquid chemicals or solids without an aseptic chamber. The present invention relates to an aseptic filling machine and an aseptic filling method.

  Conventionally, many cans such as Ito cans have been used as large liquid containers. However, since the transportation and processing for container disposal is complicated, the use of bag-in-box (BIB), which is easy to dispose of, has become widespread. ing. When the contents are spoiled or deteriorated by bacteria or the like, it is difficult to heat sterilize after filling the BIB inner bag with the contents. Therefore, aseptic content that is stored for a long period of time and is rotted, sterilization of the inner bag and filling of the sterilized content in the sterilized inner bag in an aseptic atmosphere is employed. Therefore, when filling BIB with milk, cream, fruit juice, fruit-containing fruit juice, etc. and storing it for a long time, the inner bag is filled with the contents by an aseptic filling machine.

  Aseptic filling of the BIB inner bag, the bag with the spout is sealed with a cap, the inside of the bag is sterilized with ethylene oxide gas or γ-ray irradiation, etc., and the sterilized bag is supplied to the sterile BIB filling machine After sterilizing the spout and the outside of the cap with a liquid disinfectant such as sodium hypochlorite solution, peracetic acid solution or hydrogen peroxide solution, remove the cap from the spout in the aseptic chamber and remove the spout and the filling nozzle. To fill the inner bag with the contents from the filling nozzle, remove the filling nozzle from the spout, and seal the spout with a cap to obtain an aseptic filling product.

  Further, a method for filling a sterilized BIB inner bag with a sterilized liquid food or medicine without using an aseptic chamber has been proposed (Patent Document 1). This is because the spout is attached to the upper plastic film of the BIB inner bag formed by heat-sealing the periphery of the two plastic films, and the inner plug fitted from the inside to the spout is attached to the lower plastic film. A sterilization process that attaches the spout and inner plug of the sealed bag that fits to the spout to the tip of the filling nozzle and steam sterilizes, removes the inner plug from the spout, and fills the bag with the contents from the filling nozzle This is an aseptic filling method comprising a filling step, a washing step for washing from the tip of the filling nozzle to the inside plug portion with steam, and a sealing step for fitting the spout and the inside plug after washing.

  It has also been proposed to attach a cap to the spout in the aseptic filling method of Patent Document 1 (Patent Document 2). Furthermore, it has also been proposed to provide a barrier chamber at a part of the sliding portion of the plunger connected to the filling valve for opening and closing the filling port of the filling nozzle, and introduce steam into the barrier chamber (Patent Document). 3).

  On the other hand, it has been proposed to introduce an F value as a determination means for terminating sterilization for sterilization (SIP) in a beverage aseptic filling machine using steam. For example, when the beverage supply system piping that sends the beverage from the beverage sterilization unit to the filling machine is thermally sterilized with hot water or heated steam, the temperature of a plurality of locations of the beverage supply system piping is detected every predetermined time. It has been proposed that the value is calculated and the sterilization process is terminated when the minimum F value reaches the target value (Patent Document 4).

  In addition, when hot water or steam is sent to the beverage supply system piping that sends the beverage to the filling nozzle, and the hot water or steam is discharged from the filling nozzle to sterilize the inside of the filling nozzle, the temperature inside all the filling nozzles is set for a predetermined time. It has also been proposed to calculate the F value while detecting every time, and to end the sterilization process when the minimum F value reaches the target value (Patent Document 5).

JP-T 62-503164 JP-A-63-162404 JP 2000-142640 A International Publication No. 2014/103787 Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-6920

  In the aseptic filling machine that fills the BIB inner bag with the contents, the aseptic filling machine described in Patent Document 1 that does not require an aseptic chamber is compact and has good workability. In addition, since no bactericidal agent is used, there is no complicated bactericide residue and disposal, and the running cost can be reduced. A spout is attached to the upper plastic film of the inner bag for BIB formed by heat-sealing the periphery of two plastic films described in Patent Document 1, and an inner plug fitted to the spout from the inside is attached to the lower plastic film. , Sterilization process of steam sterilization by attaching the spout of the sealed bag with the inner plug fitted to the spout and the inner plug to the tip of the filling nozzle, removing the inner plug from the spout and bagging the contents from the filling nozzle The aseptic filling method consists of a filling step for filling the inside, a washing step for washing from the tip of the filling nozzle to the inside plug portion with steam, and a sealing step for fitting the spout and the inside plug after washing. Superiority in equipment and materials compared to the method.

  However, there is a disadvantage that the sterilization time when steam sterilizing the spout and the inner plug is long and the productivity is poor. Sterilized by sending steam at 140 ° C or higher for 10 seconds or longer.

  There is a need for a steam sterilization apparatus and a sterilization method for a spout and an inner plug that can eliminate the above-described drawbacks in the steam sterilization of the spout and the inner plug of the BIB inner bag.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an aseptic filling machine and an aseptic filling method for filling the contents of the BIB inner bag in an aseptic atmosphere, which can solve such problems.

In the aseptic filling machine according to the present invention, a spout is attached to an upper plastic film of an inner bag for a bag-in-box formed by heat-sealing the periphery of at least two flexible plastic films, and the spout is fitted into the spout from the inside. An inner stopper is attached to the lower plastic film, the inner outlet of the bag-in-box inner bag formed by fitting the inner stopper to the outlet is in close contact with the tip of the filling nozzle, the outlet, A plug, a heated steam supply device for supplying heated steam to a space formed by the tip of the filling nozzle and the tip of the filling valve, removing the inner plug from the spout or fitting the inner plug into the spout By moving the stopper attaching / detaching device and the filling valve tip of the filling nozzle, the opening of the filling nozzle is opened to fill the inner bag for the bag in box with the contents. In aseptic filling machine comprising a device, the a tip of the filling nozzle, a temperature sensor at a predetermined position to form the space of the filling valve tip of the predetermined portion and the filling nozzle to form a wall of the space, An arithmetic unit that calculates an F value while detecting the temperature in the space every predetermined time when the heated steam is supplied to the space, and ends the sterilization in the space when the minimum F value reaches a target value. It is characterized by doing.

In the aseptic filling method according to the present invention, a spout is attached to an upper plastic film of an inner bag for a bag-in-box formed by heat-sealing the peripheral edges of at least two flexible plastic films, and fitted into the spout from the inside. An inner stopper is attached to the lower plastic film, and the outlet of the inner bag for bag-in-box formed by fitting the inner stopper to the outlet is in close contact with the tip of the filling nozzle. Heated steam is supplied to the space formed by the stopper, the tip of the filling nozzle and the filling valve tip of the filling nozzle, the surface of the spout and the inner plug, the tip of the filling nozzle, and the filling of the filling nozzle The valve tip and the space are sterilized with the heated steam, the supply of the heated steam is stopped after sterilization, the inner plug is removed from the spout, and at the same time, the filling nozzle By opening the filling nozzle opening, filling the bag-in-box inner bag with the contents, closing the filling nozzle opening after filling, An aseptic filling method for performing aseptic filling by fitting the inner stopper into the spout after steam cleaning the spout, the inner plug, the tip of the filling nozzle, the tip of the filling valve of the filling nozzle and the space in, a tip of the filling nozzle, may be provided a temperature sensor at a predetermined position to form the space of the filling valve tip of the predetermined portion and the filling nozzle to form a wall of the space, to the space The F value is calculated while detecting the temperature in the space every predetermined time when the heated steam is supplied, and the sterilization in the space is terminated when the minimum F value reaches the target value.

を用いて演算されると好適である。 In the aseptic filling method according to the present invention, the F value is represented by the following formula:

It is preferable to calculate using

  The present inventor is concerned with the management of the F value in order to review the temperature and introduction time of the heated steam used for sterilization in an aseptic filling machine that fills the inner bag for a bag-in-box that does not require an aseptic chamber. As a result of the investigation, it was found that sterilization can be completed in a shorter time than in the past.

  According to the present invention, in an aseptic filling machine that fills an inner bag for a bag-in-box that does not require an aseptic chamber, the tip of the filling nozzle is attached to the spout fitted with the inner plug, Heated steam is introduced into the space formed by the spout and the filling nozzle to sterilize the surface of the inner plug, spout and filling nozzle and the space. By providing a sensor, detecting the temperature every predetermined time by the temperature sensor, calculating the F value based on the detected temperature, and terminating the sterilization when the calculated minimum value of the F value reaches the target value, The sterilization time can be shortened, and the productivity of the aseptic filling machine can be increased.

The inner bag for bag in boxes which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown, (A) is a perspective view of the inner bag before filling, (B) is sectional drawing of the inner bag before filling, (C) is Sectional drawing of the inner bag after filling is shown. The process of the aseptic filling method which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown, (D) shows a sterilization process, (E) shows a filling process, (F) shows a washing process, (G) shows a sealing process. The cross section of the vapor | steam introduction apparatus in the sterilization process of the aseptic filling machine which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown, (H) shows the state in which a vapor | steam introduction line is open, (I) shows the state in which a vapor introduction circuit is closed. . The installation part of the temperature sensor for F value measurement of the aseptic filling method which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the sterilization temperature by heating steam in the aseptic filling method which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and sterilization time. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the sterilization temperature by the heating steam in the conventional aseptic filling method, and the sterilization time.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The bag-in-box inner bag 1 filled with the contents by the aseptic filling machine according to the embodiment of the present invention is a perspective view of the bag-in-box inner bag 1 before filling the contents. As shown in A) and FIG. 1B showing a cross section, the periphery of at least two flexible plastic films 2 is heat-sealed. The two flexible plastic films 2 are heat sealed to be bonded by the heat seal portion 3 to form a bag shape. The inner bag 1 for bag-in-box is formed by an upper plastic film 2a and a lower plastic film 2b. When heat-sealing the upper plastic film 2a and the lower plastic film 2b, air between the films is eliminated as much as possible. When the bag-in-box inner bag 1 is sterilized by irradiation with γ rays or electron beams, if oxygen is present inside the bag-in-box inner bag 1, the polyethylene constituting the innermost layer of the bag-in-box inner bag 1 is This is because it may react with oxygen to generate a strange odor.

  The flexible plastic film 2 is a biaxially stretched polypropylene film, a biaxially stretched nylon film, a biaxially stretched polyester film, a stretched film such as a biaxially stretched ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer film, and the stretched film is made of aluminum, aluminum oxide, A film obtained by depositing silicon oxide or the like, a film obtained by laminating one or more types of films such as aluminum foil and a film having no heat sealability, and a polyethylene film, or a polyethylene film alone or nylon or ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer The upper plastic film 2a and the lower plastic film 2b of the inner bag 1 for bag-in-box are made of one or more plastic films. Polyethylene is usually used for the adhesive surface by heat sealing. The heat seal is a heat seal by direct heating with a heating plate, an ultrasonic heat seal, a high-frequency heat seal in the case where an aluminum foil is included as a layer, or the like.

  Two or more upper plastic films 2a or lower plastic films 2b of the bag-in-box inner bag 1 may be used. For example, a biaxially stretched nylon film 15 μm, an aluminum foil 7 μm, a polyethylene 50 μm laminated film and a polyethylene film 80 μm are stacked to form an upper plastic film 2 a, and a lower plastic film 2 b is also stacked in a similar manner to form an 80 μm polyethylene. A bag is formed by heat sealing with the film inside. In the heat seal part 3, four films are bonded, but in the non-heat seal part, the four films are not bonded to each other. In this way, the upper plastic film 2a and the lower plastic film 2b can be bonded to each other by heat sealing at the heat sealing portion so as to be more than one each so that the film and the corrugated cardboard as the outer packaging are rubbed or shaken during transportation. It is possible to reduce the risk of content leakage due to pinholes caused by bending of the flexible plastic film 2 due to the movement of the content.

  Since polyethylene has a tendency to be superior in pinhole resistance as the density is low, the slipperiness is inferior. Therefore, the polyethylene film may have a multilayer structure, and a high-density polyethylene layer may be provided on both sides of low-density polyethylene.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, a hole is provided in the upper plastic film 2a and the spout 4 is bonded from the inside, and an inner plug 5 is bonded to the inner side of the lower plastic film 2b. The upper side of the spout flange 4a and the inner side of the upper plastic film 2a are bonded by heat sealing, and the lower side of the inner plug flange 5a and the inner side of the lower plastic film 2b are bonded by heat sealing. The attachment position of the inner plug 5 is adhered to the lower plastic film 2b at the same position as the spout 4 so that the spout 4 can be fitted.

  The spout 4 and the inner plug 5 can be obtained by injection molding or compression molding a resin such as polyethylene. Since the spout 4 and the flanges 4a and 5a of the inner plug 5 are heat-sealed with the inner surface of the flexible plastic film 2, polyethylene is preferable. Further, the outer surface of the inner plug 5 is fitted to the inner surface of the spout 4. The mating surface is required to have close contact with bacteria and the like. Therefore, it is preferable to make the density of the polyethylene constituting the inner plug 5 higher than the density of the polyethylene constituting the spout 4. By fitting so as to extend the spout 4, high adhesion can be obtained.

  In the inner bag 1 for bag-in-box 1, the inner stopper 5 is fitted into the spout 4, and the inside of the inner bag 1 for bag-in-box 1 is sterilized by irradiation with γ rays, electron beams or the like in a sealed state. The bag-in-box inner bag 1 whose interior is sterilized is supplied to the aseptic filling machine. In the inner bag 1 for bag-in-box supplied to the aseptic filling machine, the outer surface of the spout 4 and the inner plug 5 is sterilized by the sterilization process shown in FIG.

  The bag-in-box inner bag 1 supplied to the aseptic filling machine is held at the spout 4 by the clamp 6, and the tip of the filling nozzle 7 is brought into close contact with the spout 4 that is gripped and fixed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2D, the space 13 formed by the spout 4, the inner plug 5, the tip of the filling nozzle 7, and the filling valve tip 8 of the filling nozzle 7 is sealed.

  Next, heated steam supplied from the heated steam supply device is supplied from the heated steam supply port 10 to a space 13 formed by the spout 4, the inner plug 5, the tip of the filling nozzle 7 and the filling valve tip 8 of the filling nozzle 7. Then, the surface of the spout 4 and the inner plug 5, the tip of the filling nozzle 7, the filling valve tip 8 and the space 13 of the filling nozzle 7 are sterilized. The temperature of the heated steam to be supplied is suitably 121 ° C to 145 ° C.

  The heated steam is supplied by the heated steam supply device, and the heated steam is supplied to the space 13 from the heated steam supply pipe 9 through the heated steam supply port 10 as shown in FIG. The surface of the spout 4 and the inner plug 5, the tip of the filling nozzle 7, the filling valve tip 8 of the filling nozzle 7, and the bacteria present in the space 13 are sterilized by the heat of the supplied steam. The supplied heated steam is discharged from the heated steam discharge port 12 through the heated steam discharge pipe 11.

  Conventionally, heated steam is supplied by measuring the temperature of the heated steam discharged by a temperature sensor provided in the heated steam discharge pipe 11 and raising the measured temperature to 140 ° C. Had to supply. Holding the temperature for 10 seconds after confirming the temperature increase lengthened the time for filling the bag-in-box inner bag 1 with the contents, and lowered the production efficiency of the filled product. Supplying heated steam of 140 ° C. or higher to the space 13 for 10 seconds means excessive sterilization. Without unnecessary sterilization, it is possible to increase the filling speed by managing an appropriate sterilization temperature and sterilization time.

  By controlling the F value for the sterilization of the surface of the spout 4 and the inner plug 5 by supplying heated steam to the space 13, the tip of the filling nozzle 7, the filling valve tip 8 of the filling nozzle 7, and the space 13, productivity is improved. I found it to raise. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, a temperature sensor S is provided at a predetermined location in the space 13, and when the heated water vapor is supplied to the space 13, the temperature sensor S detects the temperature in the space 13 every predetermined time. The detected temperature information is sent to the controller 14, the F value is calculated by the controller 14 equipped with a calculation device, and when the minimum F value reaches the target value, the surface of the spout 4 and the inner plug 5, the filling nozzle 7 Sterilization of the tip, the filling valve tip 8 of the filling nozzle 7 and the space 13 is finished. Upon completion of sterilization, the supply of heated steam is stopped.

Based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor S and sent to the controller 14 equipped with the arithmetic device, the F value is obtained by the following arithmetic expression.

  When Tr in the arithmetic expression is 121.1 ° C., when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor S at each location reaches 121.1 ° C., the arithmetic device included in the controller 14 starts calculating the F value. The Z value of the spore bacterium to be sterilized is 7 ° C to 11 ° C. For example, the Z value may be calculated as 10 ° C. The Z value and the target F value can be arbitrarily adjusted to the required sterilization strength of the product contents to be manufactured.

  Further, when the pH of the product liquid is 4 to less than 4.6, the reference temperature Tr = 85 ° C. and the Z value = 7.8 ° C., and when the pH of the product liquid is less than 4, the reference temperature Tr = 65. C. and Z value = 5.degree. C., but can be changed as appropriate. In the case of pH 4.6 or more, it can be calculated at a reference temperature Tr = 121.1 ° C. and a Z value = 10 ° C.

  It is also possible to appropriately change the values to be substituted into the above formulas according to microbial growth characteristics, distribution temperature, etc. of product liquids such as dairy products, concentrated juice, noodle soup, seasonings, green tea drinks, mineral water, chilled drinks, etc. It is.

As shown in FIG. 5, the F value is calculated from reaching 121.1 ° C., and the F value, which is the area of the shaded portion calculated from the temperatures detected by all the temperature sensors S, has reached the target value. Sometimes sterilization ends. At this time, the temperature of the space 13 may not reach 140 ° C. Conventionally, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor S provided in the heated steam discharge pipe reaches 140 ° C., the timer is operated and the sterilization is finished after 10 seconds. The total sterilization time was 20 seconds. Since the sterilization lower limit condition is 10 seconds at 140 ° C., the F _{0 (121.1 ° C.)} value is calculated as 12.9 when the Z value is 10 ° C. As shown in FIG. 6, when the temperature of space 13 is to take 10 seconds to reach the 140 ° C., by F value managing sterilizing time as shown in FIG. 5, for example, sterilization ends (F _{0 (121.1} The time until the value ( _{° C.)} reaches 12.9) is 13 seconds, and the time required for sterilization can be reduced by 35%.

  The temperature sensor S is a tip of the filling nozzle 7 and forms a wall surface in the space 13, a portion that forms the space 13 at the tip of the filling valve of the filling nozzle 7, and the heating steam discharge port 12 of the heating steam discharge pipe 11. Provided in the vicinity. The temperature sensor S may be provided at one place or at a plurality of places.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (H), the heated steam is supplied to the space 13 by introducing compressed air into the heated steam supply compressed air inlet 15a and moving the heated steam supply opening / closing rod 17 to supply heated steam. The mouth 10 is opened. Also, compressed air is introduced into the heated steam discharge compressed air inlet 16a, the heated steam discharge open / close rod 18 is moved, and the heated steam discharge port 12 is opened. Here, the heated steam supply port 10, the space 13, and the heated steam discharge port 12 are in communication with each other, heated steam is supplied from the heated steam supply device, the surface of the spout 4 and the inner plug 5, the tip of the filling nozzle 7, The filling valve tip 8 and the space 13 of the filling nozzle 7 are sterilized.

  After the sterilization is finished, as shown in FIG. 3I, the heated steam supply port 10 and the heated steam discharge port 12 which are in an open state are closed. This is because compressed air is introduced into the heated steam supply compressed air inlet 15b, the heated steam supply open / close rod 17 is moved, the heated steam supply port 10 is closed, and the heated steam discharge compressed air inlet 16b is moved. Compressed air is introduced, the heated steam discharge opening / closing rod 18 is moved, and the heated steam discharge port 12 is closed.

  After the sterilization of the surface of the spout 4 and the inner plug 5, the tip of the filling nozzle 7, the filling valve tip 8 of the filling nozzle 7 and the space 13 is finished, as shown in FIG. Thus, by pulling out the inner plug 5 fitted to the spout 4, the inner plug 5 is removed from the spout 4, and at the same time, the filling valve tip 8 of the filling nozzle 7 is moved from the filling port of the filling nozzle 7. The contents are filled into the bag of the inner bag 1 for bag-in-box. After filling a predetermined amount of the contents into the bag of the bag-in-box inner bag 1, the filling valve tip 8 of the filling nozzle 7 is moved to close the filling port of the filling nozzle 7 and the filling is completed.

  After filling the contents of the bag in the inner bag 1 for bag-in-box, as shown in FIG. 2 (F), the wall surface forming the spout 4, the inner plug 5, the space 13 of the filling nozzle 7 and the filling nozzle 7 The filling valve tip 8 is washed with heated steam. After closing the filling port of the filling nozzle 7, the compressed air is introduced into the heated steam supply compressed air introduction port 15a, the heated steam supply opening / closing rod 17 is moved, and the heated steam supply port 10 is opened. Also, compressed air is introduced into the heated steam discharge compressed air inlet 16a, the heated steam discharge open / close rod 18 is moved, and the heated steam discharge port 12 is opened. The heating steam supplied with the inner plug 5 removed from the spout 4 heats the spout 4, the inner plug 5, the wall surface forming the space 13 of the filling nozzle 7, and the filling valve tip 8 of the filling nozzle 7. It is exposed to water vapor, and the contents attached to these are removed, resulting in a clean state. The removed contents enter the bag of the bag-in-box inner bag 1 and do not remain in the heated steam supply pipe 9 and the heated steam discharge pipe 11.

  After completion of the cleaning process, compressed air is introduced into the heated steam supply compressed air inlet 15b, the heated steam supply opening / closing rod 17 is moved, the heated steam supply port 10 is closed, and the heated steam discharge compressed air is discharged. Compressed air is introduced into the introduction port 16b, the heated steam discharge opening / closing rod 18 is moved, and the heated steam discharge port 12 is closed.

  After the cleaning with the heated steam is completed, the inner plug 5 is fitted into the spout 4 by the inner plug attaching / detaching device 19 as shown in FIG. Thus, the inside of the bag-in-box inner bag 1 is sealed in a sterile state. Here, the outer surface of the inner plug 5 may be cleaned by supplying heated steam again.

  After fitting the inner plug 5 to the spout 4, the inner plug attaching / detaching device 19 is removed from the inner plug 5, and the spout 4 is further removed from the clamp 6 to obtain an aseptic filling product as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2 (F), the bag-in-box inner bag 1 is in a state where the heated water vapor is blown into the bag for cleaning, but the heated water vapor condenses after cooling and becomes a slight amount of water. The inner bag 1 for bag-in-box, which is absorbed by the contents and filled with the contents, becomes a product as shown in FIG.

  Although the present invention is configured as described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inner bag for bag in boxes 4 ... Spout 5 ... Inner plug 7 ... Filling nozzle 10 ... Heated steam supply port 12 ... Heated steam discharge port 14 ... Controller 19 ... Inner plug attaching / detaching device S ... Temperature sensor

Claims (3)

Attach a spout to the upper plastic film of the inner bag for bag-in-box, which is heat-sealed at the periphery of at least two flexible plastic films, and attach an inner stopper fitted to the spout from the inside to the lower plastic film The inner spout of the bag-in-box inner bag formed by fitting the inner plug to the spout is in close contact with the front end of the filling nozzle, the spout, the inner plug, the front end of the filling nozzle, and the filling A space heating steam supply device for supplying heating steam to a space formed by a valve tip, an inner plug attaching / detaching device for removing the inner plug from the spout or fitting the inner plug to the spout, and the filling nozzle Aseptic filling provided with a filling device that opens the opening of the filling nozzle by filling the tip of the filling valve and fills the inner bag for the bag-in-box. In,
A temperature sensor is provided at a predetermined position that forms a wall surface in the space and a predetermined position that forms the space of the filling valve front end portion of the filling nozzle, and the heating steam supply to the space An aseptic filling characterized by comprising an arithmetic unit that calculates the F value while detecting the temperature in the space every predetermined time, and sterilizing the space when the minimum F value reaches the target value Machine. Attach a spout to the upper plastic film of the inner bag for bag-in-box, which is heat-sealed at the periphery of at least two flexible plastic films, and attach an inner stopper fitted to the spout from the inside to the lower plastic film The inner spout of the inner bag for bag-in-box formed by fitting the inner plug to the spout and the tip of the filling nozzle are brought into close contact with each other, the spout, the inner plug, the front end of the filling nozzle, and the Heating steam is supplied to the space formed by the filling valve tip of the filling nozzle to heat the spout and the surface of the inner plug, the tip of the filling nozzle, the tip of the filling valve of the filling nozzle, and the space. Sterilize with steam, stop the supply of heated steam after sterilization, remove the inner plug from the spout, and simultaneously move the filling valve tip of the filling nozzle. The opening of the filling nozzle is opened, the contents are filled into the inner bag for bag-in-box, the opening of the filling nozzle is closed after completion of filling, the spout, the inner plug, In the aseptic filling method in which the tip of the filling nozzle, the filling valve tip of the filling nozzle and the space are steam cleaned, the inner plug is fitted into the spout, and aseptic filling is performed,
A temperature sensor is provided at a predetermined position that forms a wall surface in the space and a predetermined position that forms the space of the filling valve front end portion of the filling nozzle, and the heating to the space is performed. An aseptic filling method, wherein the F value is calculated while detecting the temperature in the space every predetermined time when water vapor is supplied, and the sterilization in the space is terminated when the minimum F value reaches the target value. 3. The aseptic filling method according to claim 2, wherein the F value is given by

The aseptic filling method characterized by calculating using.

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